Tuesday update

Hello, friends and family.

Today has been a long day. Let me give everyone out there a little piece of advice: PRE-ARRANGE YOUR FUNERALS! My dear grandmother was kind enough to do this for us last year, and we were STILL at the funeral home for close to two hours this morning--not to mention going to the cemetery to sign THOSE papers. Can you imagine how long it all would have taken had she not done us the favor of pre-arranging? Oy.

It was nice, getting to spend time with Mom, though. After we left the funeral home, we drove over the cemetery (which is just stupendously beautiful, with mountain views like you wouldn't believe!) and took care of that, then she and I went to lunch, and then I went to shop for something to bury Mom-o in, which I stressed endlessly over because I was doing it all alone and with no one else to approve. It took me ten times longer than I thought it would. I ended up snapping a very fuzzy picture with my phone, sending it to Mom, and asking for her approval. She said she liked it, based on what she could see, and that made me feel a bit better. Then I had to run it BACK over to the funeral home and pray no one would be unhappy with my choice. Then back to Cleveland to pick up my kiddos, who my precious mother-in-law graciously looked after all day long (they didn't have school today).

In the midst of all this, Aunt Carolyn and Uncle H.L. were looking after Dad, who had fallen asleep sometime after 8 last night, and had still not woken up when Mom left. Dad slept, and slept, and slept, and slept, and slept, until my mother (who was still in Chattanooga) began to actually worry that he had fallen into a coma. All told, he slept for about 18 hours, woke up when the Hospice nurse came to bathe him, and immediately fell back asleep. According to the Hospice nurse, this is just part of "the process."

I think we are all reaching a point of emotional exhaustion and numbness. I haven't cried in days and days--not even when I got the news about Mom-o. In fact, the only time I even shed a tear or two is when Mom broke down at the nursing home when we went to see her. I think, given the awful condition she has been in, it is more of a relief than anything. We know that she can finally see again, she can hear perfectly again, she can walk without assistance, and more than anything, she is back with her beloved husband!

Funeral arrangements are as follows: Visitation will be held at Heritage Funeral Home on East Brainerd Rd. in Chattanooga on Saturday from 10 am until noon, followed immediately by the funeral service. We will then have burial at Greenwood Cemetery.

Please keep praying for strength for Mom, for peace and comfort for Dad, and for blessings for all of his caretakers. Thank you for all the prayers for my grandmother. I'm glad her suffering did not drag on any longer than it did.